Wednesday, August 31, 2011

VT Gov. Shumlin on “Our Continuing Irrational Exuberance About Burning Fossil Fuels, in Light of These Storm Patterns” | ThinkProgress

Figure 1. Wunderphotographer 43BJAGER recorded this image of a house in Sharon, Vermont, that started out the week on the other side of this underpass.
VT Gov. Shumlin on “Our Continuing Irrational Exuberance About Burning Fossil Fuels, in Light of These Storm Patterns” | ThinkProgress: "Vermont Governor: “We’ve got to get off fossil fuels as quickly as we know how, to make this planet livable for our children and our grandchildren.”"

'via Blog this'

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Angry Train Riders: Higher Fares The Wrong Ticket - Hartford Courant

Angry Train Riders: Higher Fares The Wrong Ticket - Hartford Courant: Already furious about what they see as steep ticket prices and shabby service, nearly two dozen Metro-North commuters on Tuesday dismissed a proposal to raise fares by 16.4 percent as absurd.

Passengers hammered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for allowing the nation's busiest commuter rail line to steadily deteriorate, and slammed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for proposing a double-digit fare increase in the midst of a recession.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Here it comes -- We need your social security for the auto-system

Here's a Tax That Ends Pain at the Pump - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: "The U.S.’s national transportation program is broke. We borrow about $12 billion from the Treasury annually for the Highway Trust Fund. But our real annual transportation deficit is more than $100 billion when you include interest, deferred maintenance and other spending.

At the same time, the 55-year-old Interstate Highway System is crumbling and needs to be rebuilt, at an estimated cost of $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion during the next 20 years."

Thursday, August 11, 2011

George Monbiot – How the Billionaires Broke the System

George Monbiot – How the Billionaires Broke the System: "So the rich, in a nominal democracy, have a struggle on their hands. Somehow they must persuade the other 99% to vote against their own interests: to shrink the state, supporting spending cuts rather than tax rises. In the US they appear to be succeeding."

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Buses mean business

'Lifeline' of Public Transit Faces Deep Cuts in RI - ABC News: "Any change, he says, would be devastating — not just because he'd be left stranded, but because businesses could lose some of the late-night clientele they rely on.

'This is vital for a business owner,' Berg said at a recent public hearing in Bristol on the proposed cuts, before dashing off to catch the bus. 'You cut out a bus schedule, and you are hurting businesses in Newport.'"